Social ministry of sobriety in Zakopane

It is a magical and sacred place for the highlanders, and for some of them - even the last resort. What is the Zakopane "Górka"? And why is it so unusual?

Zakopane "Górka" is a special place for highlanders - there, in front of the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the Jesuit church, addicted people vow the abstinence from alcohol and other addictions. Addiction to the alcohol and more and more other substances is a big social problem in Poland. It affects individuals, but also their families and neighbours. It is not only the civil society’s problem (health issues, crimes committed under influence and many others), but also for the Church (broken families and neglected children to mention only few). Mostly men experience that kind of problems, but it affects the whole society.

- “Mainly lost and confused people come here. They come to find peace and persevere in sobriety, in good,” says Fr Antoni Drąg. “Some do a vow for a month or two, others for a year. There are also some who vow for life,” adds the Jesuit. Every day vows are pronounced from a few to several dozen, circa 5.000 a year.

- “In Podhale it is the case that when you vowed on "Górka", such a person is no longer offered alcohol”, one of the abstinent says. – “There is a conviction between the highlanders that the devil will come to the one who breaks a "Górka" vow”, he adds.

The Sobriety Chaplaincy "Górka" at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Zakopane was established in 1971, and its founder was a Jesuit, father Wojciech Krupa, who died for over twenty years now. The pastoral ministry was established almost by coincidence, because it all began with the fact that in the presence of Fr Wojciech a young Highlander gave his wife a word of honour, that for a month there would be no vodka ball. After a month he came to “Górka” and suggested to Father Krupa that he would give the same word of honour to God this time. The priest didn’t want to accept this, but in the end, he was convinced by the argument of the Highlander: “I gave the word of honour to my wife and I kept it, how could I not keep the word of honour given to God”?